154 Ether
Drawbacks.Lighter doses of the gas stimulate breathing, but larger doses
depress it. The gas irritates airways. At higher doses pulse rate and blood
pressure decline. A serious unwanted effect can be a fatal convulsion. Using
ether as a beverage can cause headache, increase salivation, irritate the pas-
sageway from mouth to stomach (resulting in vomiting), and produce heavy
flatulence. In liquid form the substance can irritate skin and be absorbed
through it.
Ether is highly flammable, and various regulations govern medical usage
to reduce chances of ignition. These rules even control types of clothing worn
by caregivers and types of linen used on carts, lest a static electricity spark
create an explosion. Ether vapor is heavier than air and can accumulate in
depressions such as the area of a pillow around a patient’s head, making
ignition all the more catastrophic. Stories are told of ether drinkers being killed
when lighting a tobacco pipe or while indulging too close to an open flame.
Even releasing ether fumes from the mouth toward a lit fireplace was consid-
ered a hazard to avoid, lest ether ignition flash back and down a person’s
throat.
Abuse factors.Some accounts describe ether usage as potentially addictive.
Drug interactions.Not enough scientific information to report.
Cancer.Laboratory tests indicate ether may have potential for causing can-
cer, but whether the substance produces the disease in animals is unknown.
Pregnancy.The drug has caused congenital malformations and fetal death
in experiments on chicken embryos, but impact on humans is unclear. Women
with industrial exposure are somewhat more likely to suffer spontaneous
abortion. Ether passes from a pregnant woman into the fetus, but neither
chronic exposure nor acute medical exposure is known to cause birth defects.
Nursing infants seem unharmed by milk from women using ether.
Additional information.“Petroleum ether” and the drug ether are different
substances.
Additional scientific information may be found in:Connell, K.H. “Ether Drinking in Ulster.”Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol 26
(1965): 629–53.
Nagle, D.R. “Anesthetic Addiction and Drunkenness: A Contemporary and Historical
Survey.”International Journal of the Addictions3 (1968): 25–39.
Strickland, R.A. “Ether Drinking in Ireland.”Mayo Clinic Proceedings71 (1996): 1015.